Integrated ELD Instructional Strategies & Supports

Please note that this guidance is intended to be helpful, but it does not constitute legal advice and is not binding, nor does it reflect the views of the California Department of Education. For questions about the implications of this guidance on specific circumstances, local educational agencies should consult their local counsel.

Strategies and Supports for Teachers

When teaching content, a teacher can do the following to provide integrated ELD instruction and support for English learner (EL) students:

Content and ELD Standards

Provide instruction using the California ELD Standards alongside the academic content standards across all subjects (English language arts, math, science, history-social science, etc.) throughout the school day.

California ELD Standards (PDF)

Content Standards

Content and Clear Objectives

Clear Objectives: Establish explicit content and language goals for every lesson. For instance, a lesson on ecosystems might have the content objective: "Students will explain the role of producers in an ecosystem," and the language objective: "Students will use the terms producer, ecosystem, and photosynthesis in their explanations."

Use of Academic Language: Introduce academic language through both the content and language objectives, emphasizing the key terminology.

Culturally Responsive Teaching

Validate Students’ Backgrounds: Include content that is relevant to students' cultures and experiences. This helps to build a connection between their language development and the academic content.

Incorporate Culturally Relevant Resources: Use books, songs, videos, and historical examples that reflect the diversity of your students.

Scaffold Instruction

Text Reconstruction: Collaborative strategy where students listen to or read a short text, take notes, and work together to recreate the original using their own words.

Sentence unpacking: Students collaboratively deconstruct a complex sentence (examining vocabulary, grammar, meaning, chunk by chunk) to build deeper understanding of academic language, enhance comprehension, and support ELD across content areas.

Paragraph Jumble: Critical thinking and sequencing activity where students rearrange mixed-up sentences to form a coherent paragraph.

Sorting: Hands-on, language-rich activity where students categorize words, images, or concepts into meaningful groups—boosting vocabulary, critical thinking, and academic language development.

Use of visuals: Incorporate charts, pictures, diagrams, videos, and realia (real objects) to explain and reinforce concepts and language.

Sentence Frames and Starters: Provide structures for students to practice new learned language, for example, “I think that [blank] because [blank].”

Modeling: Demonstrate language use in context, for example, modeling how to ask a question or express an opinion using academic vocabulary.

Gradual Release of Responsibility: Begin with teacher-led instruction, move to guided practice, and then allow students to work independently.

Use of Interactive Technology

Digital Storytelling: Have students use multimedia tools (like Padlet, Flipgrid, or Adobe Spark) to create digital stories, allowing them to practice language production in a meaningful way.

Collaborative Platforms: Have students use platforms like Google Docs or Slides to enable students to collaborate on writing, providing peer feedback and engaging in real-time language development.

Language Apps: Tools like Duolingo, Quizlet, or Google Translate (and other translation apps) can help with vocabulary development.

Differentiation

Tiered Assignments: Provide assignments at different levels of complexity, so all students, regardless of language proficiency, can explore, practice, and apply their learning or demonstrate their knowledge.

Flexible Grouping: Use a mix of heterogeneous and homogeneous groupings to meet different needs. English proficient peers can support EL students in small-group settings.

Modified Texts: Adjust reading materials to match students’ language proficiency levels, which support grade-level standards and content expectations.

Explicit Vocabulary Instruction

Contextualized Vocabulary: Teach words within the context of academic content rather than in isolation, helping students see the word’s use in real situations.

Word Maps: Have students create word maps that define a word, use it in a complete, high-level sentence, find a non-example of the word, and illustrate it.

Interactive Activities

Think-Pair-Share: Students think individually about a question, then pair and discuss their thoughts with a partner, and finally share with the whole class. This builds both language and content knowledge.

Collaborative Learning: Group students with varying language proficiency levels for collaborative tasks. Use cooperative learning strategies like Jigsaw or Group Investigations.

Role-Playing and Simulations: Use role-plays to practice social and academic language in context. This can include debates, mock interviews, or simulations of historical events.

Language-Rich Environment

Classroom Posters: Build (with students) and post academic language and vocabulary around the room to reinforce language learning.

Language-Rich Discussions: Encourage students to discuss content in pairs or small groups, and model academic discourse.

Engage with Texts: Ensure students interact with various types of texts (e.g., academic articles, stories, non-fiction) in a way that promotes language and content development.

Frequent Formative Assessments

Use Informal Assessments: Regularly assess students’ language skills through quizzes, journals, peer discussions, and observations.

Exit Tickets: At the end of a lesson, have students quickly write down a key concept or new vocabulary word. This can help you gauge their understanding of the language and content.

Total Physical Response (TPR)

Kinesthetic Learning: Incorporate actions and gestures to help reinforce language, for example, using hand signals to represent concepts like big, small, or next.

Physical Interaction with Language: Encourage students to act out new words or phrases, enhancing retention and understanding.